February Surprise

Before I start this blog entry, I just wanted to announce that we FINALLY got a new computer. The monitor is soooo awesome and nothing like our last one. Our new one is THIN and WIDE. Our other was THICK and MONSTROUS. It took up the whole desk (well, the back of it did). Ignore the dust.....(This picture was taken in one of our kids' bedrooms, because it was there while we did our basement).

Side View

Front View

And here is a picture of our NEW one....sleek and clean! (And downstairs on our much nicer computer desk)...


Pretty cool, eh?

Now onto the real reason for this blog today. A couple of years ago, I did something called "The 14 days of Valentines" for Todd. It's when you do something nice on each day for your spouse the first 14 days in February. I got the idea from an old friend of mine, who faithfully does it every year for her husband.

It was fun the year I did it.....I left balloons in his truck one day, little love notes on the bathroom mirror, "10 things I love about you," and other similar things. The problem for me was that I had to be nice for 14 WHOLE DAYS.....IN A ROW! (That's a stretch for me). (mostly kidding).....

Anyways, the next year, I told Todd it was his turn to do it for me. (Which by the way is not how it's SUPPOSED to work.....I'm supposed to do it EVERY year....willingly even, but alas, I've only done it once.

It's been a couple of years for Todd's turn now (yes, I've been holding out) and on February 1st, Todd gave me a jar (which looked oddly familiar---I had given it to him a few years back) with a bunch of little notes inside.

I exclaimed, "You're doing the 14 days of Valentines for me?" Todd said, "Not exactly." (sigh). "But, it is similar." He went on to explain that I get to pick out one little paper each day for THE ENTIRE MONTH of February. (That's longer than 14 days, isn't it?)

Well, we're almost half-way through. And I've got to say it's been so fun! Although this is the easier route of the two, right? I mean, he only had to come up with (well, okay 28 things), but only at one time.....which means he only had to be in a giving/loving mood once and then he just got to reep the rewards. Hee, hee....I'm only kidding, honey.

Here are a few of the notes inside:

1. "You try to follow spiritual promptings and you encourage me to do the same." I asked him when have I ever done that? He got a funny look on his face and said something like, "You DO do that, don't you?" Kind-of funny.

2. "You help the kids with their math homework. What a relief!" Very true!

3. "Even though you dated all of my friends, I can say that I'm the one who finally got the girl!" True also!

4. "Our home is a place of peace, comfort, and beauty. I owe all of that to you." This one I questioned. I'm not the easiest person to live with and I wouldn't say I'm full of "peace" all the time. He responded, "No, I meant that our house is nice and you've decorated it well, so it's peaceful and comfortable and beautiful." That definitely made more sense. I knew it wasn't because I radiated "peace." :)

5. "You are the Queen of Bargain Shoppping! The deals you bring home are nothing short of amazing! Sometimes the stores pay us!" And I didn't even think he was paying attention. Usually his eyes gloss over when I tell him about the "great deal I just got!" BUT, this one is VERY TRUE and it's nice to have him notice!

6. "I know that I can always lean on you. You support me even when it is not easy." I would say that's true 90% of the time. I have my moments where it gets hard to have him gone so much, but I do know that he's exacty where he should be and I really do try and support him as much as I can.

7. "My life is like a Charlie Brown comic. I've always been in love with the little red-haired girl." Aaahhh, that is soooo sweet. Melt my little heart.

8. And my personal favorite so far? "You say the darndest things! It's a sheer adventure waiting to see what will come out of your mouth next!" DEFINITELY TRUE! I'm missing the filter between my brain and my mouth and it gets me into trouble more than I'd like to admit. But it definitely keeps life interesting, that's for sure!

Aren't those so fun? Thank you, Todd, for giving me this little gift. It really means a lot. Everyday (except that one when I kept fogetting to open one), I look forward to hearing what you have to say. You are a sweetheart and I love you!

But does this mean you're off the hook for the "14 Days of Valentines?" Is the ball in MY court now? AND do I get a couple of years to come back? hhmmmmm......

Move Over, Martha Stewart!

When I was in college, I had a roommate who used to make the most delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. She was quite a talented baker, sewer, crafter, and pretty much "all things creative" person. I remember waiting with much anticipation (and saliva) when she baked her famous cinnamon rolls. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't much help in this process. You know the story "The Little Red Hen?" Well, I was like the children of the little red hen. (Or was it the animals?) I watched anxiously and greedily as my roommate sweated and worked for most of the day. I did not plant, pluck, grind, or bake. But when they came out of the oven, I was more than happy to have her "share" with me her masterpiece.

I don't remember getting too many of those cinnamon rolls. But hey, I didn't deserve them. I didn't do the work. But the point of my story is that when she did share, they seriously were the best cinnamon rolls I think I've ever tasted.

Well, guess what? My mother-in-law gave me her old bread maker machine. I think she took pity on me because I am the least domestic in the family. Others are already little red hens, and I'm?.....well, I'm lucky to not burn the toast, ya know what I mean? Anyway, she offered it to me, and I took it. (Thanks Ann, by the way).

I haven't had much time to bake bread (or maybe it's just not a priority of mine.....I'm not sure), but last week I decided to try it out. I wanted to make cinnamon rolls. Now, I know what you're all thinking. This probably isn't considered to be "from scratch," using a bread machine and all, but listen, it's as good as I'm going to get. So trust me when I say, it's an accomplishment.

I read the instructions on what to do. The bottom line? Literally just dump in the ingredients and watch the dough appear. WHAT? Well, I did just that. I could hear the machine working (quietly even). I checked periodically into the machine to see if something was happening. I was amazed at what I was seeing, I could not believe my eyes, and then.....lo and behold.....one and a half hours later, poof, I had dough!

This is what it looked like:


So I rolled it out, sprinkled the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture on top (and chocolate chips because that's always how my roommate made it), rolled it up, and then I had this:

You get the idea, right? Cut those into little circles and HOLY COW! I had cinnamon rolls.

These are the finished product out of the oven with icing. (I don't know why the picture is lopsided.....dumb computer)....

And here are the happy faces to prove that they tasted good (or at least edible).

I even got one of Eric. (I'm not sure you can call that a smile, but I'll take it)....

And there you have it. Did you know that bread makers literally do most of the work for you? And you can even bake a loaf of bread in it by just turning it on? I'm not sure I can count it for making "real bread" or bread from scratch, but......I'm going to!

What will I make next? Something that calls for dough for sure! :)

Just a Heads Up!

Warning to all Utah drivers:

My son, Eric, just received his Learner's Permit today and is now legal to drive with a parent or Guardian. I am his legal parent....UGH!

We were at the DMV for nearly 3 1/2 hours this afternoon for him to take his test. It was a VERY LONG day! In the two hours that we waited for them just to call his number, only 3 numbers had gone before us. VERY FRUSTRATING!!

But it was a happy day when he passed the test. You have to get an 80 to pass and the first go-around he got a 78. He missed it by one question. He decided to take it again and he got an 88. Yipee! I think if I had to go back the next day, I would have had to do something drastic. (I'm not sure what yet)......Luckily, we don't have to!

But then it hit me as we were walking out the door. Ummmm.....now I have to let him drive my car.....with me in it.....and I'll have no control on the passenger side. Maybe it wasn't so great that he passed.

Now that I think about it.....since I can't see myself letting him drive with me in the car, perhaps it isn't as bad as it appears. And while Todd thinks he's going to be the one to drive with him, realistically, he's never home.

Okay, nevermind. I guess there doesn't need to be a warning after all.

(Except that I'm pretty sure that at some point, he will be driving, against my wishes)....

So, just incase....you've been warned. Watch out!

The Cone of Shame Nightmare!

This is what I found when I came home from church last week.....See if you can recognize it.

Yes, it's true. My dog (monster puppy) chewed up yet another cone! He was of course in his kennel while we were gone and somehow he pulled off the cone, only this time it was attached to his collar (which appartently was too lose).....so guess what else got chewed up?

Yes, this is the remains of his collar.....all three pieces of it. So, here's the question......should I now be proud of my puppy for being so smart and cone-savvy, or should I be angry that I now have to go purchase ANOTHER cone (and now a collar)? (I haven't decided which to be yet)

At any rate, here he is sporting his new cone....yes cone #3! We got this one at Petsmart. And by the way, doesn't it go without saying that since pet stores sell cones, by the dozens, actually, in a variety of colors, mind you, that puppies everywhere are destroying their cones?! (Just thought I'd bring that to everyone's attention).

I know, I know....he's still cute, isn't he? But he's a little terror!

Well, this story has a happy ending after all. That was a week ago, and yesterday when we came home from church, we freed Ziggy of his cone and today he is cone-less! HHAAAAAAAA (think melodic sounds, operatic, even, and triumphant beauty).....that is me singing Halelujiah!

We survived the week with the 3rd cone (barely). I failed to mention that the first night of his 3rd cone, while Todd was walking him, Ziggy hit some snow with his head and it chipped off the top half of the cone. We taped it up and I'm happy to report that it lasted another 7 days!

SO.....Life is good. Puppy is healed. Yippee!! WE ARE CONE-FREE!

Have a great day! :)

The Cone of Shame (#2)

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2010. Just about when the year is winding down, I'll have retrained my brain to write the new number on my checks, and then it will be 2011. It's amazing how quickly the time is going.

We had a good Christmas and I'll try and post about that a little later, but I wanted to write about this first.

Our little Ziggy started the new year off by being neutered. And once again, we are dealing with the "cone of shame." (Okay, I didn't make that up, it's in the movie "Up," and my kids are constantly referring to it as that......)

Unfortunately my little puppy already chewed up the first cone, (within 24 hours of his arrival home) so we're on our second one. Here is a picture of Ziggy sporting his new cone (well....the SECOND new one).

He looks innocent enough, doesn't he? (A likely story).....

Doesn't he look so depressed? He's actually doing quite well with it and hopefully this one will last longer than the first.

I don't think it was his fault that it got chewed up completely (am I making excuses for my dog now?) His jaw got caught on the lower half of the cone and he couldn't get it out, so what's a dog supposed to do? Chew, right? I think I could have saved the cone at that point, which I thought I did, but I had to leave, so I put it back on him and left him in his kennel. Well, in its then weakened state, he got it off again, and while I was gone, he chewed it beyond repair. So I had to call the vet and go get another one. (And by the way, I asked them if this was common, and just so you know.....it's NOT). Lovely!

Here are some pictures of the chewed up cone.....

So, there you have it. Please....if this has happened to anyone else and their pet, I would love to hear about it. If not, then if it does happen to you in the future, you know you're not alone! :)

Happy New Year!